FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Shields
(512) 463-0111 or (512) 663-4117

LA PORTE - Senator Mike Jackson yesterday joined Harris County Precinct Two Commissioner Sylvia R. Garcia, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, La Porte Mayor Alton E. Porter, and a host of community activists and supporters at Sylvan Beach Park in La Porte to announce a restoration project for the historic beach.

The project, which is designed to allow safer and easier access to the beach for swimming and fishing, is being funded as part of the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA), a program administered by the Texas General Land Office. CEPRA funds totaling $1.4 million will pay for a little more than half the total project cost while the City of La Porte and Harris County will each contribute approximately $560,000. The total proposed project budget is $2,524,172.

In 1999 Senator Jackson co-authored Senate Bill 1690 which created CEPRA and designated CEPRA funds for beach protection and re-nourishment projects. Last year the CEPRA fund paid out $17.3 million which was leveraged with local and federal funds to build more than $50 million in projects up and down the Texas coastline.

Sylvan Beach has been a popular recreational beach park for many years but waves and wake from large vessels in the Houston Ship Channel have eroded the beach and caused the shoreline to recede. "The City of La Porte has done an excellent job trying to stabilize the shoreline along the beach and curb erosion," said Jackson. "But I'm happy the state, city and county have come together to pool their resources and restore Sylvan Beach."

According to the General Land Office, the Sylvan Beach project was selected for funding because the project scored highly on projected economic benefits, a final design had been completed and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit had already been obtained. The project will include construction of about 1,700 feet of enhanced rock revetment along the shoreline and two protected pocket beaches.

Mike Jackson serves as Chairman of the Senate Nominations Committee and is a member of the Senate State Affairs, Government Organization and Natural Resources Committees and the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Coastal Resources. He represents Texans in portions of Harris, Galveston and Brazoria Counties.